The Founding Trustees:

Apart from Lady Munster who herself sat on the panel of Trustees until her death in 1979, the first Trustees included friends of Lady Munster, from the worlds of finance and music. They were:-

Gerald Coke, CBE – 1958-1979 Founder of the Trust and its first Chairman. Chairman of the Glyndebourne Arts Trust and of the Governors of King Edward’s School, Witley, his directorships included Rio Tinto –Zinc and the . All these appointments were of considerable significance to the Trust. Other directorships included S.G. Warburg & Co. and the Royal Opera House. He was a serious collector of Handel memorabilia, which is now housed in the Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury. He retired as Chairman of the Trust in 1978 but remained a Trustee until the following February.

Leopold de Rothschild, CBE – 1958-2005 Replaced Gerald Coke as Chairman in 1978. His appointments included Chairman of the Council of the , of the English Chamber Orchestra and the Bach Choir. His directorships included the National Museum of Science and Industry, Sadler’s Wells (now English National Opera), the Glyndebourne Arts Trust, the Bank of England and his family’s bank, N.M. Rothschild & Sons Ltd.

These two men, who devoted so much time and energy to the Trust and to the young artists who benefitted therefrom, have been the major influences in the Trust’s history; both from the financial work, both possessed of a great and enduring love of music.

Sir Thomas Armstrong – 1958-1975 Educated at Keble College, Oxford, and at the Royal College of Music, he became organist at Christ Church, Oxford, from 1935-1955, and Principal of the Royal Academy of Music from 1955. He gave valuable support to Gerald Coke and Hilary Munster in setting up the Trust. He retired as a trustee in 1975.

Sir Malcolm Sargent – 1958-1967 Eminent conductor and close friend of Hilary Munster; he was Chief Conductor of the Proms from 1948 until his death in 1967 and of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1950-1957. He championed Gilbert & Sullivan opera and contemporary British composers. His debonair appearance and fondness for the social life belied his skill as a musician. Despite his busy schedule, he was a regular and valuable attendee at Trust meetings.

Flora Neilsen – 1960-1977 Mezzo Soprano, whose real name was Sybil Crawley, and who was a close friend of Hilary Munster. She specialised in Lieder and gave invaluable advice on assessing vocal candidates.

These founding Trustees were later joined by:-

Sir Keith Falkner 1962-1975 Sir George Christie, CH 1967-2007 Raymond Leppard, CBE 1968-1977 Sir 1968-1982 The Hon. Mrs. David Erskine 1975-1998 Sir David Willcocks, CBE, MC 1975-1994 Dame Janet Baker 1976-2008 Sir Charles Groves 1976-1992 Joseph Cooper 1977-1980 Jacqueline du Pré 1979-1980 Jack Brymer, OBE 1980-1995 Anne Cantacuzino 1980-2000 Jean Stewart 1980-1981 Bernard Richards 1981-1996 Primrose Arnander 1985-2017 Sir David Lumsden 1985-1994 Michael Gough Matthews 1985-1994 Sir John Manduell, CBE 1989-2004 Dr. Jane Glover, CBE 1993-2014 Dame Janet Ritterman 1994-present Ian Horsbrugh 1994-2002 Philip Jones, CBE 1995-2000 Hugh Bean, CBE 1997-2003 The Viscount Chandos 1999-2015 Antony Pay 2000-present Louise Williams 2001-present Nicholas Berwin 2001-2015 (succeeded Leopold de Rothschild as Chairman in 2006) John Wallace, OBE 2002-2008 Imogen Cooper, CBE 2005-present Peter Cropper 2006-2015 Elaine Padmore, OBE 2006-present Professor George Caird 2007-present John Fraser 2007-present Dame Anne Evans 2009-present Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood,CBE 2009-present Simon Purcell 2013-present Sir Richard Armstrong, CBE 2014-present Roger Gray 2015-present Charles Alexander 2015-present (succeeded Nicholas Berwin as Chairman in 2015) Alasdair Tait 2018-present